Golden State Warriors: Andrew Bogut is the Key to Winning Game 6

November 05, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) between plays against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

A lot of people are saying that if the Warriors don’t put it away in game six, they’re not going to win the series. I tend to agree with this because the Dubs aren’t exactly the best team under pressure, as they’re all young and inexperienced. Unfortunately for them, they were paired with one of the best home teams in the NBA. The key was originally to win one road game, which they did, but the Nuggets have always come close to winning.

In game three of the series, the Warriors escaped with a 110-108 victory. As it’s clear, the Warriors are very good at home, and no matter what George Karl throws at them, they’re going to find a way to counteract it. This time, however, it’s different. The Nuggets are now utilizing their bigs, and sometimes, Andrew Bogut doesn’t step up to the plate and compete.

He may be a tough guy, and certainly isn’t a coward, as one Denver Columnist pointed out, but he fails to box out and rebound. Ty Lawson, the Nuggets’ point guard is getting wide open looks at the rim because he’s not playing good defense. On offense, he was good in games one and four, but failed to produce in game five. He had 18 minutes of play, and score just two points. Festus Ezeli, his backup, had 14 minutes and scored eight points.

In times like these, however, it’s up to Bogut to perform. Whether he does or not really weighs in on the Warriors’ chances. The last two times that the Warriors have made the playoffs, they’ve upset. They’re on the verge of doing it right now, and have almost matched the steps of 2007’s we believe team. In 2007, The Warriors put it away in six at home. If the crowd is good enough, they’re going to push the Warriors to victory. That’s not they here, however.

The only key to game six, for both teams really, is to not back down. Whoever backs down is going to lose the ball game. Expect Kenneth Faried to stick his foot out when Curry is crossing the lane, and expect Curry to not back down and get in his face. Expect Bogut and Javale McGee to get into it a little bit. You know that Bogut’s not going to back down. At one point, this all becomes a bit overloading, and one of the teams just explodes offensively. That sounds a lot like the Warriors.

With a great home-crowd energized for every bit of good that the Warriors do, they could easily get off to a hot start and stay that way. Guys like Curry love giving the fans something to cheer about, while guys like Klay Thompson could easily get into the action. Denver’s trap may be effective, but if Bogut doesn’t step down and aggressively attacks the basket, the Warriors will win the basketball game.